


Dyad Ascending

by ddvn05



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Ending, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Happy Ending, Mild Smut, Minor Finn/Rose Tico, Not Canon Compliant - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Redeemed Ben Solo, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:55:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24700411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddvn05/pseuds/ddvn05
Summary: Following the events of episode VIII.  As Kylo Ren comes to grips with his betrayal by Snoke and the dark side, he reaches out to Rey for help.  Their reunion awakens the darkness lurking in wait for them.  Together they take on the mantle of force dyad.  With Ben as a double agent, can they stop the war and save all they hold dear?
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Death of Ren

**Author's Note:**

> All characters are property of Lucas Films and Disney
> 
> I dreamt up an alternative episode IX and I hope you enjoy the ride. They will get the happy ending that they deserve.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren reaches out to Rey as he grapples with the realization that he cannot go on in his present state.

Chapter one: Death of Ren

He was back again. Snoke's throne room.

How many times had he returned here? Seemingly every night for the last 2 months.

Unlike the nightmares of his father's death, he had been unable to suppress these. This one had taken on a life of its own, growing more lurid and disturbing with every passing night.

He gazed around the livid red throne room. Smoldering debris drifted through the air and the bodies of the praetorian guard littered the floor. He could taste and smell the acrid flavor of singed flesh.

Across the room she stood there, staring expectantly at him. He almost sighed with relief when he saw it was her.

It was far more unsettling when it was himself that stared at him from across the room.

The man he could have been...should have been if he wasn't _so weak_.

Tonight though it was her. She never spoke in these dreams but he could still hear her words, "please Ben, don't do this."

He wanted desperately to close that distance between them.

He wouldn’t though. 

He couldn’t...because that wasn't the way this nightmare played out. He felt a sense of resignation as he knew what horrors awaited him.

He started walking across the throne room towards her, just as he had on all these endless nights. As always he felt the pull, the magnetic force of the throne. His feet became rooted to the floor in front of it.

The body of Snoke lay severed, one half seated in the throne and the other on the ground before it. His dead, glassy eyes stared accusingly at Ben, boring into his chest.

He felt himself fill with disgust. “Strike down his true enemy”, Snoke's last words had been the only true ones he had ever spoken.

Feeling his stomach turn at the revolting scene before him, he turned away. He looked to where Rey stood a moment ago. Desperate for a beacon in this darkness.

She was gone.

Disappeared into the ether of dreams and with her went his chance at redemption.

An icy cold sensation of dampness saturated his boots, drawing his attention back to himself and the throne before him. He watched with a sense of growing horror as his boots were coated with a creeping black slime. It belched out of Snoke's gaping mouth and slithered across the floor. A poison, a physical manifestation of the darkness claiming him. He knew he was powerless to resist it but he flailed backwards anyway. In desperation, he willed his feet to move, to run. He swiped at it with his hands trying to push it off as it wrapped around his legs. This only caused it to spread, surging up his arms. The creeping darkness was sticky like tar and desperately cold.

Somehow it felt like desolation personified.

It relentlessly climbed over his body, slithering up his neck. He tried to scream but opening his mouth produced no sound and only allowed the blackness to climb inside and fill his throat.

Consumed, he was being consumed.

He gasped awake and sat bolt upright. His throat felt closed and his chest was unbearably tight.

 _Needed to vomit, that’s what he needed to do_.

He raked his trembling hands through damp hair as he tried to control his frantic breathing. He tumbled out of his bed and stumbled to the bathroom in his quarters. Leaning over the sink he clutched the counter while retching. Even as he did so, he knew there was nothing inside of him to bring up.

_When was the last time he had eaten anything? He had no clue._

He sank down into the narrow space between the sink and the wall. Hyperventilating. Unsuccessfully, he tried to control his breathing.

_This was it...he was dying._

His mind had been revolting against him since Crait. He knew that was true. Tonight felt like the tipping point, now even his body was rejecting the monster he had become.

_But hadn’t this been what he secretly yearned for all along?_

He stared up the ceiling, gagging and gasping. His chest felt like it was caving in, like a star collapsing in on itself.

All these years of recklessly pursuing oblivion had only resulted in this...Madness on his bathroom floor. At this thought he actually started laughing at the horror of it all.

Giving himself to the dark side held the promise of peace through submission, through oblivion. But it had been a lie, like all the others whispered into his ear by Snoke. Instead of quieting the raging storm inside his mind, it only seemed to amplify it.

Death was probably the only answer and it's what he deserved, he thought. Sacrificing himself and his family to the darkness had only led to more pain. Unforgivable crimes.

He should have died so many times, not least of which on that night in the throne room.

 _Why hadn’t she just killed me?_ He knew the galaxy would be better for it.

He had pondered over it every night after these miserable nightmares woke him. His thoughts invariably turned to her and those final moments. The pleading in her eyes and the sound of her voice had cut like a knife to the bone. She had offered him hope and he turned her down. Yet she hadn’t hurt him when she could have...instead she left him there, incapacitated. She hadn't even stolen his saber or destroyed it.

During his final showdown with Luke he swore he would destroy her. Even as he said it, he knew it was a lie.

She had bested him time and again. As he felt himself fracturing from within, he knew who would win.

He scrambled to his hands and knees, crawled out of his bathroom and settled his back against the side of his bed. The peak of his panic was subsiding and he looked at the blank wall across from him, grey in the shadowy light. His mind felt ready to crack from the war raging within.

_Did he want to die?_  
_What was left, if not this path?_

Even as his mind formulated the questions, he knew the answers.

She had laid an offer on the table and left it there.

He felt her presence even now. A point of light in the darkness behind his eyelids. He had used this mental image countless times to regain control after these hellish dreams. Focusing on that faintest sense of her presence was usually enough to calm him. He never went further though, terrified she would push back and close the door to him.

He shook his throbbing head, knowing what he needed to do but trying to gather the resolve to do it. She hadn’t completely closed her connection to him. He knew he needed only to call out to reach her. He laid his head back against the edge of the bed and closed his eyes. His chest was still so tight it was almost unbearable but at least his breathing had slowed a bit.

He realized with growing certainty that he needed to try. Most likely she would ignore him or outright reject his request. His own self-loathing would be confirmed and then he could do what he hadn’t had the courage to do all along. Either way he felt with certainty that this path could not go on as it had been.

Inhaling a ragged breath, he focused on the mental image of her speck of light and for the first time in a decade called out on the Light side of the force. “Rey, please” he whispered, “it’s Ben.”

~~~~~~~~~

Ajon kloss:

Rey stood on the branch, twenty feet above the forest floor.

One hand resting on the tree trunk for balance, she looked out across the clearing at the hovering remote droid. The cacophony of jungle life around her was like a raucous symphony. She breathed in the thick jungle air, redolent with the mixture of sprouting and decaying fauna.

Her muscles were fatigued from the exertion of scaling the massive tree even with the use of the Force to aid her. She had been chasing this silly droid for the better part of an hour and she was determined to catch it now.

She bounced lightly on the limb to test its stability. Satisfied that it wouldn’t immediately give way, she began to walk out towards the hovering ball suspended just above her at the midway point of the branch.

Her eyes narrowed against the glare of the brilliant sunlight. She tried to ignore the rivulets of sweat tickling her neck as they trickled down her back. There certainly was a difference between humid and dry heat, she thought absentmindedly.

Slowly, she edged out onto the tree limb while holding a precarious balance like a tightrope walker. She ignited her saber with the intention of leaping at the blasted droid and destroying it.

She crouched low, readying herself to launch at the droid.

Ready, aim...

_"Rey, please, it's Ben."_

His plea was a whisper but the shock of it exploded in her mind.

Thrown off balance with surprise, she pitched forward off the branch.

“Aieee” she exclaimed as she slipped off the branch. Luckily she was able to grab the branch as she used the force to swing back onto it with a thud. "Oof, not exactly sticking the landing," she murmured as she regained her balance.

She looked around expectantly, as though he was going to pop out from the jungle canopy around her. She knew that this was ridiculous even as she did it.

She had heard him in her mind and could feel the connection opened wider than it had been in months.

A thought crossed her mind that this time it felt different than before but she didn't dwell on it. Nor did she dwell on the sudden fluttering of nerves in her belly.

As her shock abated she immediately reached back towards him.

“Ben?” She whispered tentatively in her mind.

“Yes,” he replied, “are you well?” his concern evident in the emotion he projected. He must have felt her alarm over the near fall and abrupt landing. She almost chuckled out loud, “yes, I've almost finished a training exercise and you caught me by surprise. Please wait a moment...I...I want to talk with you.”

She felt rather than heard his ascent. Filled with a new sense of urgency to end this session she looked up to find the drone.

 _Alright_ , she thought, _let’s finish this then._

She eyed the drone which had flown out into the middle of the clearing. It hung another 10 feet or so above by her reckoning. She clambered back up to a crouched position on the branch. The only way to reach the little bugger now would be to jump.

The other side of the clearing was a wall of foliage and dangling vines. Opening herself more fully to the force around her, she slowly stood, letting it fill her like air in her lungs.

Taking one last deep breath she took off running across the tree branch. She neared the end and leapt, feeling the branch break beneath her feet. She sailed upward, ignited her lightsaber and sliced cleanly through the droid. She descended toward the other side of the clearing and grabbed hold of a vine with her free hand.

Using the leverage of the entangled vine to help slow her descent, she gracefully landed on the jungle floor in a fighting stance. She extinguished her saber and slipped it into her holster. She had to suppress the flush of pride she felt at knowing he was aware of her capability.

“Get it together,” she chided herself, relieved that she was still shielding her thoughts from him at this moment. She knew she needed to remain objective in this scenario but the nervous energy building in her betrayed her true sentiment.

Her com crackled to life at that moment as well. “You almost done? Lunch will be starting soon,” Finn’s voice called over the communicator. “Almost Finn, almost,” Rey replied into her com. “I just knocked out the last droid but I’m going to be late, I need to meditate. I promised Master Organa.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll grab your rations for you. I know you don’t like to miss a meal,” Finn teased. “Touch my dessert and you’re a dead man,” she retorted before switching off the communicator.

Ben was still there, present like a shadow in the corner of her vision though she mentally held him at arm's length.

 _Alright_ , she thought. She had bought herself some time with Finn and now needed to get to somewhere private so they could speak without interruption. Taking another calming breath she readied herself to open the connection between them further.

“Ben, I’m taking us to somewhere private.” She told him as she opened the connection further. She turned off the large path onto a barely noticeable trail, partially obscured by rocks, fallen logs and jungle growth.

He waited in the periphery of her consciousness, surprised that she had even replied to his contact. He let her hold him at a distance while she completed her training. He dared not push for more access. He realized that he was terrified of her cutting the contact and leaving him, alone and lost. Despite this fear, he couldn’t help but feel impressed by her growing skill as she held her connection to him, shielded her thoughts and pulled from the force around her to execute her mission. He was musing absently over this when he felt her reaching back to him.

She opened her connection to him fully and his senses were inundated with the world around her. His vision was filled with brilliant sunlight causing him to squint against the sudden brightness. Humid air bathed him and moisture condensed on his skin in the chill of his room. The din of the jungle echoed overhead as he breathed in, nostrils filling with the scent of the jungle around her.

She pulled him along, hiking up the trail until she entered a small glade. The sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance but was unseen. She sighed deeply as she settled herself on the ground, her back resting against a fallen log.

He immediately felt her connection to this place, the serenity she felt in its solitude. He was touched that she thought to bring him here.

With the connection fully open between them they appraised each other in earnest.

Ben gazed at Rey in amazement as his breath caught in his throat. She looked every bit the Jedi warrior in repose. Her skin had bronzed from the sun in this place. Her hair was up in her typical arrangement but several strands had come loose, falling around her face and curling in the humid air. Her lithe muscular arms leaned on her knees in front of her. She was beauty and strength in perfect balance.

Rey looked back at him across the clearing, and the galaxy. She peered into the shadowy recesses of Ben’s quarters and her earlier inkling of worry consolidated into confirmed fear for him.

He was sitting on the floor, leaning against his bed. His breathing was still rapid and she could hear his wheezing. His face was gaunt and shadows clung beneath his eyes. His scar looked angrier than before somehow. _Her lasting touch on his ruined face._ She felt her heart fill with pity. He clearly wasn’t eating or even sleeping properly. He had been lean but muscular before and now he was thinner, wasting away in his own personal hell.

She felt the anguish coming off his mind in waves. She had felt it before in the weeks since their last meeting. It would come at random, an imagined touch or the brush of a ghost on her mind. Suffering that was muffled from the distance between them but present all the same. She had wanted desperately to reach out then but had held back.

This meeting had to be on his terms.

He felt her empathy just as she felt his anguish. He realized that it wasn't pity, which he had always derided.

No, she had been waiting and listening; holding back, suffering in the knowledge that he hurt.

“Rey, I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I just have to know, why didn’t you kill me, there in the throne room?”

“Ben,” she sighed, pain for him written on her face, “because I didn’t give up hope that somehow you would find your way back.” She smiled weakly at him, “I want to help you, will you let me?”

He didn’t answer but simply nodded. “I can’t do _this_ anymore,” he said simply as he gestured around the room. “The further down I go, the more horrible it becomes. Honestly, I didn’t even expect you to answer, after all I’ve done there should be no forgiveness for me.”

“No,” she replied firmly, an idea forming in her mind, “the chance for redemption is always there. That's why...ultimately I thought better of completely cutting off our connection. You let us escape Crait. I knew there was still conflict there.” She looked down at her hands as she spoke but now looked up at him, seeing the emotion in his eyes despite the darkness of his room.

She had seen the truth in him all along.

“Ben, there isn’t much time now and frankly, you look like death.” He laughed darkly at her assessment. “Thanks, I haven’t been sleeping well but I thought I was doing a great job hiding it,” he joked lamely.

“Hardly,” she said wryly. “Listen, I want to try something, to help you sleep and ease your breathing. Then tonight, here on this planet I’ll reach out to you again so we can speak. Figure out what comes next.”

The idea in her mind solidified. She had tried this once before on a wounded animal but had no idea if it would work through their connection. Still, he needed any aid she could give.

Without hesitation he agreed. “Ok,” she said as she shifted on the ground, positioning herself into a kneeling stance. “Lie down in your bed, you will feel pressure from me reaching out and I will touch your mind, alright?" Wordlessly he complied as he pulled himself up into bed and sprawled out there, his chest still tight and his head spinning from the exertion, “Ok Rey, I trust you, " he wheezed, his voice raspy with effort.

She nodded and closed her eyes, she put one hand on the jungle floor and outstretched the other. Drawing from the force around and within her she reached out to him. He felt her touch his mind and the sensation of a warm hand on his chest. An involuntary shiver of pleasure ran through him.

 _When was the last time anyone had willingly touched him? The throne room fight_ , he thought sadly, that was when.

She felt his sadness and grief swell as she probed his mind. Rey felt the constriction in his chest. She pushed the energy through her connection to him.

She willed him to relax, to open his lungs and quiet his anguished mind. Warmth suffused him and he sighed as he drifted off. The last words he heard were her speaking, “Rest now, I’ll see you soon.”

She felt him relax and she pulled back. With a gasp she closed the connection and dropped to the ground on her hands and knees, panting from the exertion. She sat back and looked up at the mid-day sky hoping that her efforts to help him had worked. She got back to her feet and began heading down to the main trail head.

Her com began immediately beeping with a new message as she turned it back to available mode. “Rey,” the voice buzzed through the com, “this is Leia, I need to speak to you immediately.”

“Oh boy,” Rey mumbled to herself. She had been wondering if or even how she should bring this development to Leia but apparently that would not be a problem.

“On my way Master,” Rey replied as she picked up the pace, anxiety clutching at her stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, please review if you would like to do so!


	2. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben experience revelations about their connection and Rey's power.

Chapter 2: Revelations

As she expected, the General and her Jedi Master waited for her in the hangar doorway. This massive structure housed their starships and most of the day to day working operations.

Rey inhaled sharply with anticipation as she approached, the air was thick with humidity and the smell of fuel.

General Leia looked impossibly small against the backdrop of the hangar and Rey marveled at this woman who had persevered to lead them despite all that she had seen and suffered.

Immediately, Rey worried whether her news but would be seen as a blessing or a curse. She chewed her bottom lip in anxiety as she approached her teacher.

Her fears were quickly dispelled though as she saw the excitement in Leia’s eyes.

“Come Rey, we must speak in my quarters,” she said, catching Rey’s hand and practically dragging her along the gravel path to her private lodging.

“Ok Master,” was all Rey could get out as they bustled past the hangar opening.

Various greetings and questions to General Organa came from several staff members when they caught site of the pair. While she replied patiently; Rey could feel Leia’s annoyance building.

Once inside Leia’s humble trailer, Rey felt her anxiety began to build again.

“It’s alright dear,” Leia said, patting her on the arm and directing her to a small table where her lunch ration had been brought for her. “Sit, eat, and then let’s talk.”

Rey gladly complied, realizing she was suddenly starving. Plopping into the chair, she set to her lunch like she hadn’t eaten in days.

“Hungry I see,” Leia remarked with a raised eyebrow as she sat down across from Rey, “Force use like whatever happened today can really wear one out.”

The food in Rey’s mouth went dry as she wordlessly nodded. Leia offered her a glass of water which Rey took and gulped until it was empty.

Leia laughed lightly, “Oh Rey, don’t be afraid. I felt your use of the force today and I felt Ben here too...but, it was different somehow”. Her voice drifted off with this statement.

Rey nodded, in between bites, “Yes Master Leia, he was here today...in uh, a manner of speaking. I just, well, um, there are things I haven’t told you and I honestly don’t know where to begin.” She fidgeted nervously, struggling to admit that she hadn’t been forthcoming about her interactions with Leia’s son.

“Hmm,” Leia replied, nodding as if she completely understood already, “then you should start at the beginning and I suspect it will all make sense by the end.”

Rey nodded, pushing her tray aside.

Taking a deep breath, she started at the beginning.

Rey recounted their first encounter when they both realized they had an unusual connection through the force. She explained how it had grown over time. It had gradually strengthened to the point that they could speak telepathically and even see each other.

Leia interrupted her then, her expression excited, “Rey, this connection you are describing, it is the stuff of legend. There are stories of force manipulators who were so connected that they could bend space and time to communicate and in some cases even physically interact. But such a pair has not been known in centuries.”

Rey sat back in her chair, letting the full impact of Leia’s words sink in. She had intuitively known that their connection was unusual but she hadn’t really stopped to think about the significance.

“Have you two ever made physical contact?” Leia asked, her voice low in amazement as she considered the implications of Rey’s revelations.

Rey tried to suppress a flush of heat in her face at the question.

 _Well this is mortifying_ , she thought.

“Well, errr, yes, one time, on Ahch-To," she stammered. 

Rey suddenly realized that she was staring down at the table like she might dive under it. Abruptly she looked up at Leia, “it’s not what it sounds like! Just hands, we reached across and touched hands.” 

Her humiliation was unending as she felt her face blush furiously at the admission. “Luke burst in and then he and I argued. Ben and I were just talking, that’s all! I could feel his conflict.”

Leia had suppress her own urge to chuckle at the ridiculousness of the situation.

 _Poor girl_ , she mused, having to confess trans-galactic hand holding with the enemy to not only her Jedi Master but also the estranged mother of the hand holder in question.

“It’s alright Rey,” she said, reaching across the table and taking Rey’s hand in her own, “please continue.”

Rey sighed, reigning in her embarrassment.

She then proceeded to tell Leia of the fight in the throne room and how Ben had saved her life but ultimately refused to come with her. Instead he begged her to stay and join him.

Even as she said it, Rey internally groaned, it sounded like they were tempestuous lovers...this humiliation was apparently unending.

She could sense Leia’s barely suppressed amusement and thought she might be thinking the same thing.

"So,” Rey concluded, “I didn’t fully close our connection because I felt that he was still conflicted. Ultimately he let us escape Crait, I knew there was still hope.”

“Well,” Leia said as she squeezed Rey’s hand again before releasing it, “now that we have gotten through all the hand holding and dark side proposals; which I must add I’m grateful you turned down. Let’s get to what happened today.”

With that Leia got up and paced the room. She felt like her own emotions were barely in check. Even when Han had left to try and retrieve Ben she had feared it would fail...which it had. His return now was more than she ever dreamt of coming to pass. Rey had taken a great personal risk with her choice.

“Oh, but, before we do; I must ask; what would you have done if he came for you as Kylo?”

Rey looked down at the table again, narrowing her eyes as she thought. She looked back up at Leia who was surprised by the determination in her Padawan’s eyes.

“I knew it was a risk and if it came to that I would have ended it one way or another. I would die to protect all of you...all of this.” She gestured around the room. “You have told us time and again that hope sustains our cause and I agree. It’s what led me to make that decision. I wasn't deluded about who he was becoming though.”

Rey sighed, her shoulders suddenly sagging as if exhausted. “I should have told you everything from the start. I'm so sorry, but I was afraid you wouldn’t want to train me...or worse.”

Leia nodded in understanding, “you were afraid I would see a divided loyalty. No dear, you have been asked to balance so much on your shoulders. I’m sorry you have carried this burden alone. You don’t need to be afraid of who you are Rey, I’m not.”

——

The Steadfast--

Ben woke in the dark of his room, momentarily disoriented. He could not remember the last time he had experienced such a deep, dreamless sleep.

Cautiously, he took a tentative breath in and marveled at how normal he felt.

Sitting up, he ran his hands through his hair and climbed out of bed. His mind felt sharp and focused for the first time in months. His body felt strong and he was suddenly so hungry.

 _What Jedi witchcraft did she use on me?_ He mused, chuckling to himself.

For the first time in a long time he felt alive.

He couldn’t wait to see her again. There was so much he needed to know.

At his desk, the intercom in his room began to buzz with an incoming call. Irritated by the interruption in his thoughts, he strode over and answered.

General Hux came over the speaker, his nasally voice clearly communicating his disdain for the Supreme Leader. “Sir, we have been waiting for you to begin this meeting. If you aren’t planning on attending then we shall commence without you.”

 _Meeting...that wasn’t schedule till an hour past mid-cycle on the ship. How long had he been out_?

He turned to look at the time display on the other side of the room when he caught a glimpse of his own reflection in a mirror; causing him to pause in surprise. 

He slowly turned and walked to the mirror to inspect his face. He gingerly touched the place where his scars had been; afraid he was somehow hallucinating the change. Only healthy skin met his fingers as he ran them across the once ravaged area.

“Sir, sir?!” Hux’s voice was becoming increasingly grating.

Ben shook his head in annoyance, _how had he not thrown this guy through an airlock yet?_

“I’ll be there in 15 minutes,” he replied as he silenced the communicator with a wave of his free hand. The other was still prodding his healed face in disbelief.

——

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Leave a review if you wish!


	3. The storm breaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a casual late night secret meet-up with the Supreme Leader of the First Order...
> 
> Our heroes re-unite after Rey's intervention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always characters are not my own...
> 
> I hope you enjoy! The story should start picking up the pace now. Please review if you feel so inclined :)

Rey checked the door to her quarters again, ensuring it was locked for the third time.

She inhaled deeply as she surveyed her home.

She resided in an anonymous metal hut; her furnishings spartan at best. A tiny porthole window sat over her small desk by her door. A floor lamp off to the side, casting a soft glow over the room. A cabinet and bed were tucked at the far end of the space near the refresher closet.

She walked over to the window and tugged the canvas covering, checking to make sure it was secure.

The last thing they needed was for a curious passerby to peek in and see who she was meeting with.

“Just a casual late night secret meet-up with the Supreme Leader of the First Order,” she laughed to herself, shaking her head.

_That would go over exceptionally well with Finn and Poe._

She actually grimaced at the thought.

She had Leia’s support in this endeavor but she still needed time to figure things out. The meeting with the General had gone better than she could have hoped. Leia was clearly happy with the developments and agreeable to Rey meeting with Ben again tonight. Rey had felt how much Leia wanted to see her son but the General had not pressed the matter; knowing it wasn’t yet time.

A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. Rey silently thanked the tumultuous weather on this planet for these evening storms. A veil of rain would add another layer of protection and secrecy to this meeting.

Rey leaned lightly against her desk. She tried to quell the nervous energy building within her. It had been steadily growing all day, brewing like the storm overhead. She felt as if she was running headlong toward a cliff and would soon be deciding whether to jump.

Even her friends had commented on her distraction at dinner. She had attempted to shrug off their concern but she could tell they were not really buying her excuses.

_Neither was she, frankly._

She didn’t know if she had ever felt this way about any encounter before.

_Well,_ she mused, _probably when she arrived on the ship to meet Ben the last time._ She smiled sadly at the memory. She could still vividly recall how wildly her heart beat when she looked up through the glass and saw him there. His face was so solemn, his mind closed off.

She felt a pang of regret even now that she had been unable to convince him to come with her then.

She felt lost in that memory again as she replayed those moments in the throne room in her mind. Her exultation when he rescued her and gave her the lightsaber. The emotion that swelled between them as they stood facing each other, silently acknowledging the implications of what his choice meant. 

And then the fight, their strength as a team was intoxicating. She savored it still, the feeling of fighting _with_ him. It was all colored by the tinge of regret though. Sadness at the loss of him there when she ran away, leaving him unconscious on the floor.

_Well_ , she thought firmly, snapping herself out of her reverie, _we shall see where this leads_.

Deep in her heart though, she knew she couldn’t bear losing him again. Silently, she prayed for a different outcome as she emptied her mind and reached out for his'.

~~~~~~

The Steadfast--

Ben sat in the interminable meeting.

Listening to General Hux drone on endlessly about supply chains and logistics plans was sheer torture.

_Maybe I am dead_ , he mused, _I died last night and now this is my eternal punishment._ He almost laughed out loud at the thought but managed to restrain it with a snort.

“Sir,” Hux snapped, an eyebrow raised imperiously, “something wrong?”

“No, continue” Ben replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Hux turned back to projection and pointedly continued on to the next slide, numbered 96 of 250. Ben rolled his eyes, _would this never end?_

Ben returned to letting his mind wander...he was silently grateful for this ridiculous mask as it covered his changed face. That one would be awkward to explain away. He had chosen not to fully correct the damage. His scars served the duel purpose of terrifying his subordinates and serving as a daily reminder of his ambition...his rage. That life was over now though, he just needed to figure out how to make this right.

He might not know what lay ahead, but for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t filled with incapacitating dread.

“Ben?” Her voice filled his mind. A rush of anticipation raced up his spine.

He needed to leave...now.

Quickly, he looked around at these men gathered in the conference room. The top brass of the First Order. He had a sudden urge to stand up, ignite his saber and lay waste to this room and its occupants.

_No, too soon_ , he thought, _tearing this down will requiring planning and besides, it would only delay reaching her._

Instead, he stood abruptly and declared, “I have other matters. Finish without me.”

Without waiting for their acknowledgement, he turned and walked out.

Generals Pryde and Hux shared an incredulous look as General Hux spat, “typical.” General Pryde simply shrugged in reply as Hux then returned to his briefing; his rage simmering just below the surface.

Ben exited the conference room and hurried down the corridor. He had to actively restrain himself from breaking into a jog. Luckily, everyone he encountered cleared a path around him. He could feel their fear of him but also perceived occasional thoughts echoing a belief that he was past the edge of sanity.

He smiled to himself, they weren’t wrong, he had been. Now however, he had never felt saner in his life.

He rounded a corner, his cape fluttered behind him as he quickened his pace a bit. He reached his room and paused at the door.

He had been thinking all day about what he wanted to say to Rey. He still hadn’t come up with the right words to express his gratitude and more. He suspected that even if he had; it still wouldn’t be adequate when he saw her.

Sighing, he waved a hand over the panel to open the door and entered his room. The twisted mask of Vader stared at him from across the room. It made him feel ill to look at it. He turned away from it, pushed its image from his mind.

There was only one face he wanted to see.

Quickly, he glanced back over his shoulder and mentally engaged the extra security features on his door. He wanted no interruptions.

He pulled his mask from his head and returned her call. “Rey, I’m here.”

The connection between them fully expanded.

He looked at Rey standing in her room. He was right he realized, there were no words _._ Any speeches he had composed flew from his mind at the sight of her.

She stood just a few feet away but somehow across the galaxy.

She wore a loose fitting tunic that hung a bit lopsided, exposing a bare shoulder. Her hair was partially wet and tumbled across her shoulders. Tendrils curled in the heat and humidity of whatever planet she was standing on. She was still wearing boots over her trousers. He could smell the rain in the air.

She looked back at him and a smile lit up her face.

He could appreciate the dim light of a nearby lamp but the glow that surrounded her seemed to emanate from within.

_How had I never noticed it before?_ He wondered to himself.

He had a sense that he was the only person who _could_ see it. He loved the thought of that.

He had never wanted to be near anyone more than her, now. He needed to be near her. 

He pulled from the force within him and pushed into her room across the galaxy. Like stepping through through thick gel or semi-liquid, he put one foot through and then the other. The pressure in the room changed and all sound was sucked into a vacuum.

He emerged on the other side.

His lungs gasped for a breath as he stumbled a bit before finding his footing.

The effort required to physically manifest himself in her quarters caused his vision to dim and his head to spin. As his senses normalized he realized she had already the closed the distance between them and was helping to keep him upright. He leaned against her as she supported him with a tight grip on both of his forearms.

He righted his posture and met her gaze. An expression of wonder crossed her face when she saw the healing she had wrought. Tentatively, she raised a hand to his face and cupped the once effected side. Her thumb skimmed the surface of his cheek, causing his breath to hitch at the feeling of it.

Sadness crept into her expression as she looked down. “I’m so sorry, for doing that to you. For hurting you.” 

“No,” he said, his voice rougher then he meant it to sound. “Never apologize for doing what’s right. I deserved that and worse.”

He wanted her to look at him again. More than anything. Without even realizing what he was doing, he reached up and took her hand from his cheek and gently moved it to his lips. Reverently, he kissed her palm.

“Thank you for what you’ve done, Rey, then and now.”

Rey continued to look down, trying to control the racing thoughts in her mind.

The feeling of his lips on her skin was catalyst she needed. She had reached that cliff and she knew she wanted to jump.

She raised her eyes to his. His face was so handsome, even with the scars she had always secretly found him breathtaking. His muscular arms felt so solid and sure under her hands, like she had quietly imagined they would. 

She wanted to kiss him so much that she could scarcely breath. The small amount of space between them felt like it was crackling with electricity. The force bond between them hummed with seeming anticipation.

She slid her other hand up his arm and across his shoulder. Her own fingers tingled with the sensation of touching him, finally. Her fingers trailed to his jaw line where she softly stroked his face. He leaned in closer to her, eyes locked onto her’s. She tilted her chin up and met his mouth with hers.

She felt their connection explode in her mind like fireworks.

She could feel the need in him that matched her own. His hand that had held hers let go and wrapped around her back, pulling her closer to him. The force of their embrace practically seared them together.

She held both sides of his face with her hands as their kiss deepened. She pulled back after a few moments to catch her breath. 

This was far better than either had imagined in those secret moments when such thoughts bloomed. 

A mischievous glint lit up her eyes.

“Take off that damn cape,” she said.

“Forever,” he said smiling in return as he released it. The quiet whoosh of fabric spilled onto the floor, breaking the silence.

Suddenly, the storm broke overhead, a deluge of rain and rolls of thunder shielding them from the world outside.

The sound of the heavens opening disrupted the spell of the moment. She looked down at the floor and saw his helmet vacantly looking back up at her. Gingerly, she pushed it away with her booted toe before returning her gaze to him.

He watched her shove the cursed mask away and he couldn’t help but smile. He never wanted her to see him wear it again.

Ben's heart was hammering in chest and his hands were shaking as he felt the heat of her body in his arms.

He needed to get these gloves off, he thought abruptly as he stepped back to remove them. He wanted nothing to stand between them.

She watched him step back as he pulled off his glove and cast them aside. She immediately wanted him back in her arms. His shaggy hair spilled over his eyes and she held herself back from brushing it away. She craved seeing into their sparkling brown depths. She wanted to get lost in every bit of him.

He was back to her in a moment though and they collided together. Their mouths hot and hungry for each other. He slid his hands under the back of her shirt and up her bare skin. His calloused finger tips tracing circles on her back elicited a moan of pleasure from her.

She pulled him closer as she leaned back. She slid backwards onto the desk behind her as he pulled her tunic up over her body. He stepped back to admire her in the soft light. She was incredible.

“You next,” she teased with a smirk. Ben was happy to oblige as he stripped off his shirt. He felt his face color as she admired him.

His lean, muscular frame was just as gorgeous as it was the last time she had seen him shirtless. She flushed at the memory, her own desire for him growing by the moment.

“Come back to me,” she whispered as she tugged on the force between them. He let her pull him back in, he ran his hand hands down her shoulders, down her sides as he explored her. His touch was like fire and she felt the heat spreading over her body and pooling in her middle.

He sucked on her lower lip as she opened her mouth. Her invitation was met with his tongue as they continued to explore each other.

Rey wrapped her legs around him. The sensation of being firmly trapped by her was incredible and a groan escaped his lips as he kissed down her neck and sucked on her collarbone. The taste and smell of her was intoxicating. He would come undone right here if they kept up like this.

“Rey,” he whispered, his voice a husky whisper, "I want you so much.” She moaned lightly, clearly lost in the moment. “Yes,” she whispered.

He looked up at her in actual surprise. For a moment, he couldn’t believe what he had heard.

Their eyes met; he saw the fierce desire in her eyes and a wave of primal possessiveness rolled off her. “I want all of you,” she said.

Ben knew she meant not just tonight, but forever.

She had marked him once but now she meant to claim him.

He realized with utter certainty that not only did he accept...he couldn’t wait.

He lifted her up against him, her legs still wrapped around his waist.

He abruptly realized that he had no clue where they even were... _her room_? Almost frantically, he started looking around the room for any available horizontal surface.

She couldn’t help it as laughter bubbled up out of her. “Behind you,” she said rolling her eyes in mock exasperation. He laughed in return, “sorry, I didn’t exactly get the grand tour.”

"Well, I'll be sure to orient you to the room later, " she teased, burying her face in his neck and promptly distracting him with her tongue.

Joy blossomed between them as he carried her to the bed. 

Gently, he lowered her down. He cupped her face with his hands as he kissed her.

With a mix of urgency and tenderness they stripped each other and climbed into bed, completing the journey they had started in earnest so many months ago.

\----

“So,” she said sometime later, comfortably enshrined in his arms, “that was a good talk.” 

She craned her head back to meet his gaze as he chuckled in response. “It certainly escalated quickly. But what can I say, I’m helpless when you start using your Jedi sorcery on me.” She feigned an expression of mock offense. “How dare you,” she teased, giving him a playful elbow in his side, “Jedi sorcery indeed, you were the one who barged into _my_ room from across the galaxy.” 

Laughing, he rolled over to get a better view of her face as he bantered back, “barged in?! _You_ invited _me_!” He couldn’t help but smile down at her as she ran her fingers through his tousled hair. The desire in her eyes lit up her smile and promised more _talks_ to come. 

He sighed, he wanted nothing more than to lose himself in her but he had something he needed to say first. 

Rey looked at him quizzically as the smiled faded from his face. 

“Rey, I don’t deserve this; any of this. What you have given me...I shouldn’t have it.” 

Rey shook her head, her brow furrowing in consternation. 

“No Ben, you once said we should kill the past but the truth is, we can’t. All we can do is make amends. Together, we can do that, I know it.” 

Ben looked at her, saw the conviction in her eyes and he knew that she spoke the truth. 

“We’ve never lied to each other,” he said, leaning down to kiss her fully. _That was a foundation to build on,_ he thought. He felt her agreement as their’ kisses deepened.

\----

Dawn light filtered into the room, signaling the end of the night.Rey felt Ben stir.He wanted nothing more than to stay but it was time to go back. Rey stretched lazily and sat up. 

“I need to go back,” he sighed ruefully, “we need to figure this out Rey, how to end this fight.” 

“I couldn’t agree more,” she said, “we can _actually_ discuss it tonight.” 

The conversation paused as they both felt the connection surge between them, the rightness of the bond they shared. 

“This force bond is definitely not normal, you know,” Ben said while dressing, “what we can do and how we are connected, it’s not typical at all.” 

“I know,” Rey agreed as she reached over and handed Ben one of his hastily discarded boots from the floor. “Your mother told me it has been recorded but hasn’t been seen in ages.” 

The mention of Leia brought a change to Ben’s face as Rey felt his grief well up between them. She reached for his hand and squeezed it sending understanding back to him. 

“I need to see her,” he said simply, “tonight?” 

“Of course, I’ll arrange it and we will see you tonight.” 

Ben smiled sheepishly at her, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Thanks Rey, but uh, how much are you going to tell her about us and umm, last night?” 

She chuckled and leaned forward to push his messy hair behind an ear. “Only that our peace talks are under way.” He took her hand from his face and kissed it again.His heart swelled at the feeling of her hand in his and the promise of more nights like this one.

“Alright Jedi sorceress, get some rest,” he whispered as he leaned over and kissed her forehead. Rey laughed, rolled her eyes and settled back into bed.She felt so comfortable, reveling in the fullness of their connection while quietly admiring him as he finished dressing. He looked at her with a smirk as he felt her eyes on him. 

“I’ll be back for you soon.” With that he was gone.

\----

“Rey! REY! Breakfast!” 

Pounding on her door awoke Rey with a start. She sat bolt upright in bed looking frantically around the room. 

_Oh heavens, it was Rose,_ Rey thought with alarm as she rolled out of bed, pulling on clothing while she stumbled across the room. She tripped over her own boots strewn haphazardly on the floor. She scrambled to right herself as she reached the door, disengaged the lock and pulled it open. 

“ROSE!” She awkwardly shouted, much louder than she had intended. “Sorry, I, uh, overslept!” 

Rose took a step back and gave her friend an appraising look. One eyebrow rose as a smirk crossed her face. “I’m sure you did,” she replied, “is he still in there? Can I meet him??” Rose started bouncing on her toes, trying to see around Rey’s head in the doorway.Rey tried to suppress the flush she felt spreading over her face. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said evenly, “but come on in and I will go change.”Rose chuckled as she followed into Rey’s trailer. Scanning the room, Rose strode past Rey and picked up a discarded black glove from the floor. 

She tilted her head to the side as her grin spread further and said, “I beg to differ Rey.Firstly, you never oversleep.Even when returning a from late night mission you are always up with the sun.Secondly, your hair looks like you tumbled out of a tree.” 

“Hmmm,” Rose continued as her gaze locked in on a suspicious new bruise on Rey’s exposed collarbone, “thirdly, I doubt very much that the bruise on your collar bone is from dueling a target droid and well, finally, these hastily dropped and forgotten men’s gloves all suggest that you had a late night guest.” Rose could barely restrain a chuckle as she finished.

Rey sighed, realizing that any attempt to explain away her appearance was lost with the presence of the gloves. 

“Alright.Don’t say a word to anyone,” Rey begged with a pleading look. 

Rose laughed, “of course I won’t, what are friends for?” 

Rey relaxed a little at Rose’s reassurance, “Ok, then let me get properly dressed and we can head to chow.”

“You seemed to have forgotten something,” she grumbled at Ben telepathically while she stepped into her refresher closet to change; leaving Rose to settle in the chair at her desk. His amusement at her exasperation only served to heighten her annoyance. 

“Shall I come back and grab them then?” He teased, feeling her ire simmer across their bond. “The look on your friend‘s face will be worth it, I promise.I’ll even wear the mask.” 

“Do that and it will be the last trip you take,” she growled at him. 

He laughed at her response, “why did I ever imagine I could tame you,” he chuckled, “go get some breakfast.” 

“You’ll pay for this later,” she whispered back to him, projecting with it the feeling of anticipation. “I’m counting on it,” he responded as they both pulled back, leaving only the faintest whisper of the other’s presence remaining. 

Shaking her head at the ridiculousness of her predicament, Rey stepped back out of her bathroom. “Ok, let’s eat.”

\----

Rose and Rey wandered up to the table where Finn sat, having already started on his meal. There was a typical crowd in the dining facility.Friends and compatriots jostled for morning meal rations while joking and making small talk.Rey soaked up the warm conviviality of the mess hall.Her lonely life on Jakku spent scavenging at the margins had instilled in her a great appreciation both for regular meals and the company of others.

“Sorry we are late Finn, someone overslept,” Rose remarked as she nodded her head at Rey and gave Finn a suggestive wink. “She was all tuckered out.” 

Finn looked at Rose in surprise and then at Rey. Rey’s mouth actually gaped open in surprise at Rose’s clear insinuation. 

“Really,” Finn said incredulously as he leaned back in his chair. “Do we know him? It better not be a pilot or Poe is going to flip out. You know how he thinks of you as a little sister. He won’t like some pilot putting the moves on you.” 

Rey regained her composure and huffed out a breath in frustration. “Thanks for keeping it to yourself Rose,” she said shooting her a glare while they both slid into chairs. 

Rose shrugged and smiled, “I didn’t say anything, he figured it out. And besides, I’m so damn happy for you!” Rose leaned over and wrapped her arm around Rey’s shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze.Rose’s affection was a soothing balm to Rey’s slightly frayed nerves.

“Agreed,” Finn cut in, “you haven’t been yourself since the escape from Crait and we’ve both worried for you. This war won’t be ending anytime soon and we need to find happiness where we are now.” At that statement Finn looked at Rose and they smiled across the table at each other. 

“Thank you both,” Rey sighed, feeling the tension inside her unwind. “I can’t really share anymore details but I will tell you that I have found a part of myself that I didn’t realize was missing.” 

The warmth she felt suffused their bond and she felt Ben reciprocate in kind. “Maybe we can end this War sooner rather than later,” she thought and felt him agree.

\----

Exegol-

Awareness dawned over his mind. 

Something had disrupted his near hibernation.He remained in a quasi-suspended state much of the time now.It helped extend the lifespan of the ruined vessel he was forced to inhabit.His consciousness was trapped inside a cage of decaying flesh.Kept viable only through the tireless efforts of his servants; the heretics of the Sith eternal temple. 

A significant shift had occurred in the balance of the Force. 

A loss from the Dark side. 

He didn’t even need to probe to know who had fled.It was Ren.His unwitting apprentice had abandoned the cause. 

_It was no surprise._

He knew that the spawn of a Skywalker descendant was too weak willed to master the darkness on his own.It was annoying nevertheless, as he had wasted many years and much effort on grooming the boy.While he had relished torturing him from an early age and destroying the Skywalker legacy, that had not been his ultimate goal.Ren was incredibly powerful in the force and could have served as a suitable vessel when he had fully come into his power.

He reached out into the force.His weakened form only allowed him to appreciate the shadows of force signatures.It was still enough for him to surmise where Ren had strayed too. 

_So he had abandoned his path, caught up in desires of the flesh.A pity._

_Well_ , he mused, _no matter now._

The idiot boy had led him to perhaps an even greater prize without even meaning to do so.

_Yes…when the time was right he would take them both, one as his vessel and the other as his slave._

This thought satisfied him deeply and he let his mind drift back into slumber. 

He would wait, like a viper coiled in the shadows.


End file.
